Should I become a landlord?

[PhoBingas]

I live in a pretty red state, and it is decently pro-landlord, with a 3-5 week court order timeframe to get an eviction notice which is very good.

3 to 5 weeks is a long time for a shitbag tenant to have with your apartment. Might be worth it, but I feel the headache shitty tenants would cause could quickly eat up any profits you'd make and chip into savings.

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

Since I'm a veteran (You're welcome for my heroic service btw)

Fuck veterans.

You should consider buying one property but only if you are willing and able to take care of it and be a good landlord. If you cannot tend to your tenants' needs, don't do it.

Don't get greedy and start buying up properties. People like that will in the long term destroy neighborhoods and depress the growth of towns because they cannot take care of so many properties and your tenants should not be expected to maintain your equity for free when they have none.

 

[Clotso Coof]

If you do it, don't rent to friends unless you've known them for many years, the person has a rock solid job, great credit, no baby mamas or bad relationship choices, etc. Ask yourself if you'd lend your friend 5000 and be totally confident he'd repay you.

"Friends" get entitled fast because they think you owe them a break. It's often the same with family, unfortunately.

NEVER rent to co-workers. I know a guy who got fucked on rent, property damage, then FIRED from his longtime job when the renter made bullshit claims of sexual harassment just because she was pissed off. [She was an ugly middle-aged fatty, he very definitely didn't sexually harass her].

 

[Blue Flying Leaf]

It is an option to never rent to women. My experiences were bad. Unless she has a husband to pay or vouch for her rent, don't do it. Women for some reason love to burn candles after explicitly telling them and stating in contract not to.
All renters will drill like mad. I don't know what's up with them, but they love to drill holes everywhere.
Sometimes even into the electrical mains, blowing all their fuses.

 

[Big Lenny]

The only redeeming thing about landlords is that thry make Redditors seethe

 

[Clotso Coof]

Unless she has a husband to pay or vouch for her rent, don't do it.

A lot of those "single moms" actually have a boyfriend with a criminal record who moves right in once they've got the unit. They'll lie about it if you ask why the neighbors are seeing a grown man every single day.

Where do you think all those unemployed ghetto/trailer rats live when not with their mothers? They move from girlfriend to girlfriend, the old "hobosexual" trick.

 

[Rootless Cosmopolitan]

First, be honest about your personality and your tolerance for other people's bullshit.

Example: I had a place I was going to rent out, but then I realized I'd take the worst tenant behaviors and damages way too personally. It'd be too stressful for my personality. So I sold it and put the money in index funds.

Ask yourself how you'd react if a tenant refused to pay rent, made bullshit claims against you to authorities, cost you thousands in lawyers fees, did 10k damage to your property, etc.

Review how you've reacted in the past when someone stole something from you. Were you able to blow it off as "that's life" to some degree? Because landlords have to tell themselves "that's the cost of doing business" or "that's just the way it goes sometimes" and accept big losses.

Another factor is small repairs. Can you do the handyman stuff? Light plumbing? You don't want to have to hire out the simple stuff or it gets expensive fast.

This is the best advice I have ever seen on kiwifarms. I have some friends who have gone into landlording over the last few years (“I have a 2% interest rate but have to move for work”) and it’s been a fkn nightmare for most of them.

You need a steely disposition and some solid practical skills to make this work. Ignore financial advice gurus on YouTube, “passive income” this is NOT.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

. Its a renters market in that rents are falling every where what is the cost to cary the property for you the note holder?

It depends on the city, boise is looking at super high increases thanks to the cali refugees while florida is dropping by 3-5%. Atlanta's going down a little bit.

Have a home you can take care of yourself and everyone else can boot it.

Yeah, make sure you're squared away first or you'll be on your ass when the first bad tenant comes around. check all the local laws and renter's rights, in IL the landlord HAS to maintain the hvac but in georgia its lease specific. small shit like that will drive you bonkers.

 

[ifunny pride world wide]

One thing I was thinking of was renting (or trying to) exclusively to military. Don't wanna sperg out and fuck them up but if they get retarded you can contact their command chain for maximum lulzery.

I know a few families that do that. Bought a bunch of homes in the ghetto right outside the base. They rent to military guys exclusively. You're guaranteed money due to their BAH and if they suck as tenants no worries cause they'll be gone in a year or two. Even better if its an officer heavy base because you're screening out most of the 30% APR Charger niggers

 

[Frederica Bernkastel]

I know a few families that do that. Bought a bunch of homes in the ghetto right outside the base. They rent to military guys exclusively. You're guaranteed money due to their BAH and if they suck as tenants no worries cause they'll be gone in a year or two. Even better if its an officer heavy base because you're screening out most of the 30% APR Charger niggers

Well, my friend, I don't think he's going to read your post. Or anyone's posts anymore.

 

[ifunny pride world wide]

Well, my friend, I don't think he's going to read your post. Or anyone's posts anymore.

for the edification of those still with us ofc

 

[Freshly Baked Socks]

My grandpa was a landlord for a short bit, but he got scared out of being a residential landlord after discovering that niggers have nothing of value to seize as a consequence of being in arrears on rent. They'd just evaporate in the wind. I hear things are worse now, and the niggers have legal protections to squat almost indefinitely without recourse.

I am so glad he moved on the commercial/industrial land development instead, I would hate to have inherited apartments full of brownoids.

 

[Blue Flying Leaf]

I am so glad he moved on the commercial/industrial land development instead, I would hate to have inherited apartments full of brownoids.

You can't even kick them out legally.
The apartments are absolutely trashed.

I however know people that rent out only to section 8 trash. Lowest tier construction, barely anything inside. Government pays rent steadily and they will never get a job or move out so it's basically living on proxy welfare. Some actually keep their apts surprisingly clean. Others are a dump. Yards and lawns are a dump too and just become a parking lot.

Renting nowdays it's just a headache. If people would pay rent as per contract it would be fine. But it's not and people are shit. To buy to rent is just not sensible.
You'll still have to work to keep it maintained (now you have 2 condos to maintain) and any service is just insanely expensive and terribly done.
Then you have the option of getting squatters or just people don't want to get out. It is not worth the hassle.
Better to just invest in stock market, or work an hour more. You'll get clean easy money that way compared to begging for scraps.

 

[Varis]

This sounds like a burger thread, but I'm going to barge in with my Scandifag experience.

I've owned three flats in my life and rented out two. They were all purchased with money I inherited, so I have no experience with mortgages or loans.

When I sold my first property and set out to find a new one, I researched the average rent for the size of flat I was looking for in the area. I wanted the rent to cover the maintenance costs of both my home and the flat I'm renting out, as well as the rental income tax. I also tried to scope out the area for any development projects that would increase the value of my property in the future.

I don't bother with anything major like sanding the floors before renting, I just make sure the place is clean and all the utilities work. Small minimum-cost renovations that I can do myself are fine. The housing company has a contract with a maintenance company that handles most of the actual repairs. If a large appliance like the fridge breaks down, I'll buy a new one and deduct it from my taxes.

I always use a third party to find me a tenant, preferrably one that can run a credit check. Their fee is usually one month's rent. My contract requires tenants to have home insurance, but I also pay lessor's insurance just in case. I've only had good tenants.

Edit: forgot one thing when looking for a property to rent out: PIPE REPAIRS. They're a huge expense every 40-50 years and people try to offload their flats quickly if they know one is looming over them. They're a hassle and the place is unliveable for like a year as they tear up the bathroom and replace everything. Make sure the pipes are good before buying.

 

[Blue Flying Leaf]

Pipes however are never good. Leaks are really common, even in entirely new condos.

 

[Quindoll]

Well. Is this in favor of becoming a landcuck or in disfavor of becoming a landchad?

 

[SmugAutist]

Don't become a landlord unless you:

1. Are patient with your investments and don't leverage yourself to the tits and put your own home equity in jeopardy. Getting a rental with a mortgage is playing with fire, and if you're that desperate to own a rental, you're probably better off just putting it in the S&P.

2. Take a basic financial accounting class or at the very least read some financial accounting books. I know many other landlords who fucked themselves over by devouring their cash flow and not saving up for when HVAC needs maintenance. Properties degrade over time, and it's your job to keep them in top shape.

3. Don't fall for the BRRR meme. Unless you actually know how to repair all your property's utilities properly, the renovation cost is going to eat all of your profits. Buy a property that will be good for 10+ years at least.

4. Vet your tenants. Like, really fucking do this. A bad tenant will fuck up your property and it will cost a lot of money in legal fees just to get him out. This is why you don't leverage your house to buy a rental unless you can actually pay it if all things go bad and if that's the case, you probably will be better off in the S&P. Don't rent your house to Section 8, period. And speaking of fucking up your property.

5. Don't go into short term rentals. These people are going to fuck you over with damages and fees. In fact, stay out of tourism altogether. When you buy a property in a tourist area (beachfront property, etc.) you will buy it with high speculation already priced in, and popular tourist destinations change over time. You can easily buy a property when a tourist area is hot and see niggers and pajeets turn it into a ghetto. Say goodbye to your equity.

6. Don't quit your day job unless you have at least 12 rentals.

 

[Shroom King]

The only time I would consider putting a property for rent if it is a condo and the building has a management company taking care of repairs, rent collection, etc.

 

[SmugAutist]

I'm gonna expand on my earlier post because I didn't give a concrete answer.

The difference between a landcuck and a landchad is volume. Landchads entered the real estate game with millions of dollars and managed to get 10+ high quality properties, cash down, and diversified between commercial and residential just to start. Their residential real estate is also new, with updated utilities and infrastructure, and it's high end, meaning their tenants tend to be the type who clean after themselves. The landchad was already successful before investing in real estate, and therefore has already diversified his portfolio. Real estate was not his first investment.

The landcuck seeks easy cash flow, either because he is impatient or desperate. The landcuck takes out a loan or HELOCs his house to make a downpayment on a shitty house because the bank knows he doesn't have the equity in case things get real bad. The landcuck is forced to rent his house to niggers or jeets because high earners who clean after themselves will naturally go to the landchad's luxury apartment over the landcuck's single family home built in the 80s. The landcuck's investment will start falling apart, and because he got into it due to hype, he doesn't have basic handyman skills that can save him thousands in plumbing and electricity repairs.

Most of all, the landcuck is a greedy idiot who decided to get into real estate in a highly inflated market because he got hyped up by influencers telling him to buy their course about how betting everything on one rental is the easy path to wealth.

There are now dozens, if not hundreds of real estate gurus out there trying to sell real estate as a get rich quick scheme. Even if all these guys actually got rich from real estate, they got rich off of real estate in the post 08 recession, the absolute best time to buy real estate in our lifetimes when everybody was selling houses and land at a discount with interest rates at historical lows. The market was fearful of real estate, which is why it was such a good deal for those of us with cash to buy at the time.

Now, what I'm seeing is an insane level of greed. Gurus selling the industry like it's the only answer. It may have been the answer for them, but it probably isn't the best advice right now. It's kind of like that Youtuber who got millions of subscribers in the early 2010s giving a course on how to get big in 2025. It's a different world with a different algorithm, and different market conditions. The BRRRR meme is outdated with current interest rates, and Airbnb is a failing business.

Is real estate a path to wealth? It was for some, including my family, who managed to buy at the best time possible. But there are other paths to wealth, especially if you're still early on in your investing journey. The market is different now. Higher interest rates, high speculation, an insane amount of hype. Tech and manufacturing are a better bet than real estate right now, and remember, the landchad already had money before getting into real estate.

So, should you become a landlord? In this market, no. It's overly inflated and infested with greed. The returns you make at this juncture will probably be less than an S&P index fund. The money I currently make from real estate is being kept in cash, waiting for the correct opportunity when the landcucks who leveraged to the tits to buy properties for Airbnb are forced to sell at loss. If you live in Texas, Florida, or any other state with good zoning laws, the prices will eventually fall down due to a glut of supply.

Unless you live in NYC or California, where new housing is almost impossible to build, but then you have to deal with NYC or California tenants, and fuck that.

 

[reptile baht spaniard rid]

If you're thinking about it, you need to understand ALL sides of this.

There are so many "get rich being a landlord" stories and books that it's hard to see the real dangers.

Search Bogleheads.org or other "not landlord oriented" forums for "bad tenant" or "eviction" or such.

Find a copy of Landlording at the library, it's an older book, but it checks out. Read it.

Buy a few books from here: https://johntreed.com/collections/real-estate-investment (if you're serious, the $700 bundle is nothing compared to the cost of the houses, buy it). At least get this one: https://johntreed.com/collections/r...advantaged-investment-on-earth-maximize-yours because you may be able to leverage your status much better by abusing the VA loan to buy shitholes, fix them up, and sell them in 2 years pocketing the gains tax free. The real money is in buying literally uninhabitable (find out why and how to fix it, become a general contractor if needed) and turning them into fixer-uppers. People always way overestimate how much big things cost (like foundation issues, mold, etc) and underestimate how much "little things" like a simple "kitchen refresh" are going to cost. Don't do the latter.

You need to know your state's laws completely. Especially eviction and tenant's rights. Nolo may have a book dedicated to your state, if not, get the generic one on BOTH the landlord and the renter side.

Most of the "profit" in a rental is made by buying it, fixing something that makes it rent for more, and then selling the fucker as fast as you can. They're not great for cashflow.

Be 1000% sure you can accurately and completely get a realistic picture of how much money you are making, on what capital investment, and track that shit. Landlords, especially single-family or duplex ones, are really, really fucking good at deluding themselves that they're making out like bandits when they're actually losing money each month vs fucking treasuries, let alone the S&P. Hint: if the money borrowed against the house would make more in treasuries than you do in net profit rent you're fucking subsidizing some fat retards.

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Noooooooooooooooo.